Off-licences, nightclubs and pubs should be forced to stop discounting alcohol and pay for the policing of the binge-drinking culture that makes many town centres no-go areas at weekends, one of Britain's most senior policemen said yesterday.

Sussex chief constable Ken Jones, one of three candidates in the race to replace Sir John Stevens as Metropolitan Police commissioner, told The Observer that bargains such as the three bottles of wine for £10 special offer now being made by the Thresher off-licence chain encouraged excessive drinking.

The drinks industry had to take full responsibility for the crime associated with alcohol consumption and pay its share of the costs of policing the disorder, through compensation or a levy, he said.

'It's unfair for any profit-making business to transfer its costs to the public. The negative costs are being picked up by ordinary people in terms of the degraded environment, noise, disorder and all the other consequences of late-night drinking,' said Jones, whose patch encom passes the seaside resorts of Brighton, Hastings and Eastbourne, where violence associated with drinking is a growing problem. 'We are dealing with big business and we need to be more robust with them.'

Jones is one of a number of senior police officers who believe the industry must play a leading role in changing Britain's drinking culture. There is particular concern about bars offering 'all you can drink for £10' and giant warehouse pubs, where customers stand up.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) warned the government last month that its new 24-hour licensing laws could lead to rising violence unless excessive drinking was curbed.

Jones said: 'I see the new licensing laws as an opportunity to regulate this and help us manage disorder. But if we are not careful, we could end up with the worst of both worlds.'

Since April Acpo and the Home Office have been talking to Home Office Minister Hazel Blears about the government's alcohol strategy. The police are lobbying hard for a voluntary levy on the drinks industry.

Richard Philips, acting head of Alcohol Concern, said there was no obvious solution. 'If the government asked companies to keep their prices high, that would be illegal. It would be anti-fair trade. We need to see if an exception could be made over alcohol to allow this to happen.'

But the industry is unwilling to accept an end to discounting. The British Beer and Pub Association said the problems of binge drinking were largely related to late-night clubs offering enormous amounts of free drinks for a £10 entry fee, rather than cut-price pints of beer.

'We are all determined to focus on the real issue, changing the drinking culture to end binge drinking,' a spokesman added.